Book of One 04: A Child of Fire (7 page)

"I do not doubt that, but it is not a fitting weapon for the Lord General of Maramyr. Give it to me."

Berant unbuckled his sword belt but he hesitated, not wanting to hand it over.

"This blade has been in my family for generations. It is of sentimental value to me."

"Give it to me, now," Cerric told him, his tone turning sharp.

"Yes, highness." Berant handed him the weapon.

Cerric held it up in his hand and the scabbard burst into flames as he called forth his power. The leather burned away quickly and the steel began to melt, running in rivulets over his skin and dropping into small silvery pools on the ground.

"There is no room in my army for sentimental values," Cerric told him. "As easily as I turn this weapon to nothing, this might also be your fate if you continue to challenge my commands."

"Yes, my lord."

"That does not mean that I do not value your counsel, but I demand your respect and obedience in all things." Cerric glared at the man as the last droplets of metal fell to the ground and the bits of ash fell from his hand, burned away clean by his power. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, my lord," Berant said, knowing how close he was to experiencing the wrath of an angered god.

"Now choose a blade from those on the table. You will carry it with you at all times and into the field of battle. I will not force you to kill one of these lowly prisoners if such a thing is beneath you, but you will kill if you wish to maintain your position as many others will become your challengers over the days to come."

"As you command, my lord," Berant said then he walked over to the table and picked up one of the few remaining blades that had not yet been bloodied. He barely gave it a glance, for he did not care for what Cerric was planning with these weapons, but the warrior in him noticed that the sword was well balanced and less ornate than the others. Its crosspiece was encrusted with clear stones that matched a large, clear diamond embedded in its pommel. He shoved the blade into his belt and looked at Mirdel, who stared at him with his lifeless eyes then he looked at Cerric. "If that is all, may I take my leave?"

"Yes, Berant," Cerric said. "You may go. Leave a proper force for Mirdel to maintain Kandara, and the rest of the army will return with us to Maramyr."

"Yes, my lord," Berant said then he bowed his head and walked away toward the stone staircase.

"Mirdel, I have been informed that duke Kaledra and his family have been brought to the city."

"Yes, they have."

"Good," Cerric said. "Once I have left Kandara, your first order of business will be to execute Kaledra. Do it publicly as an example of what happens to traitors."

"Did he not side with us, my lord?"

"Yes, but he betrayed his lord and king, and the people must learn that no matter what they do, if they provoke our anger, they shall feel our wrath. Is that clear?"

"Yes it is. And what of Elric?"

"I will take him to Maramyr, as a trophy. I have some further use for him, but the time is not yet right."

"Very good, my lord," Mirdel said, knowing whatever Cerric had planned for the deposed Kandaran king would not be pleasant. "What of Kaledra's wife and daughter?"

"They are yours to do with as you please, Mirdel. Have the rest of these weapons stored and readied for travel. You may kill the rest of these prisoners. It will give you power, Mirdel, and none shall challenge you."

"Thank you." Mirdel bowed his head. "You are most generous."

"That I am," Cerric said with a smile, then his eyes shifted focus and he nodded. "I have other business to attend. I trust that you can finish up here."

"Consider it done," Mirdel replied and he raised his sword and walked over to the remaining prisoners and began killing them, one by one, as Cerric walked up the stairs to the palace, enjoying the music of the echoing screams of dying enemies.

*****

Calexis was on her way back to the royal apartments, where she had taken up residence, when she encountered the mage, Dakar, who had been conspicuously absent during the battle for Kandara. While she was not particularly enamored of the man, she was curious to find out what he had been doing, so she invited him to accompany her and ordered that some refreshments be brought while they waited for Cerric to finish whatever he was doing in the cavern beneath the throne. Calexis had not expected much from Dakar, but she was pleasantly surprised when their conversation took an unexpected turn.

"It is most strange," Dakar said "It must have happened during the battle when Cerric used his magic to link himself to the soldiers. Such a feat would have required great power, and when I felt the drain of it, I was almost undone, and my connection to the one became very tenuous. It was a terrible feeling, as though I was lost."

"That must have been very upsetting to you, Dakar," Calexis said with a hint of sarcasm. "I know how fervently you worship my husband."

"I worship the one," Dakar said. "The god who walks among us, the one foretold in the book."

"Yes, and I make my bed with him. Your slavish worship grows tiresome."

Calexis sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, disappointed that Dakar appeared to be just as mindless as the rest of Cerric's followers. However, when she opened her eyes again and looked at the man, she saw that his eyes had turned black as night, filled with power and, for a moment, she worried that he might intend some harm to her but he simply sat in his chair and stared at her. She felt the twitch of something in her mind and the small powers she possessed told her that the mage priest was prying at her mind.

"What would you like to know, Dakar?" she asked. "It is considered rude to scry into someone's mind without asking."

"You fear him," the mage said.

"Cerric?"

"Yes, you fear him, and you are right to fear him, for he his terrible and would kill you in an instant if it suited his whim."

"What's this?" Calexis was shocked to hear Dakar speak so plainly of such things, one moment worshipful and the next, critical. "You would say such things about your god?"

"I do not have much time, Calexis, and I am taking a great risk to speak to you now," he said. "When Cerric used his magic, death magic, on the soldiers of Maramyr, the link that binds me to him was broken for a short time. I managed to separate a part of my mind, the part that knows the truth, the part that speaks with you now."

"What truth, Dakar?"

"Cerric is not all powerful. While he may be a god, his power grows weak with distance and when he focuses it elsewhere. There are limits to his power, though he seeks to expand them. I believe he is searching for ancient weapons from the second age, called godswords, used by the gods of that time when they warred against one another."

"I think you are right, though you are late to the ball," Calexis said. "Cerric has plundered the treasure of Kandara, and I believe he has found more than a few of these godswords of which you speak."

"If that is true, then his power will only continue to grow."

"Why did the gods use these weapons and not regular swords?" Calexis asked, intentionally not mentioning axes or daggers, thinking of the short blade tucked against her thigh.

"In a book I found, a kind of prophecy by a lost race of seers called the Mistrani, there is mention of the godswords being hidden by the few gods who survived the wars of the second age."

"How can it be a prophecy if it is about the past?" Calexis asked.

"That is what they called it. The Mistrani were seers, who could look not forward, but back through the sands of time. According to various records, they wrote many histories, but most of them are believe lost. The book I did find was only by chance, for it was misplaced on the wrong shelf by a foolish young mage, long ago. Luckily, I remembered where I had left it, for all of the other books on the subject appear to have been removed by someone."

"Someone? Who would hide all the books related to these weapons?"

"I do not know and it matters not. What matters is the knowledge I have gained. You asked why the gods used these weapons. If my understanding of the Mistrani book is correct, these godswords allow the wielder to take the power of those who are killed by the blades. It has something to do with powerful gemstones and a metal called silvergold. I do not know how the godswords were made or by whom, but I have heard of silvergold and it is believed that only the gods themselves could work with such a metal. Items made of it are often called gifts from the gods."

"I too have heard this legend, but usually people refer to small things like pendants or rings, supposed items of worship, blessed by the gods, they say."

"These godswords are similar, though they are much more interesting. I believe that with such a weapon, a person could even take the power of a god."

"It is a wonder that Cerric would go looking for such weapons," Calexis commented. "You would think he would rather they remain lost or buried."

"His thirst for power overrules all things, Calexis. And with such weapons, Cerric can grow even more powerful. With the link that was created by the book, he may draw power from me and the other mages, but that power is only borrowed and it drains us much faster than if we were to use our magic ourselves. If he had a godword, he could just kill us and take our power directly, adding it to his own, and I fear that may be his plan."

"If your description of these godswords is correct, then Cerric already possesses many of them. I would tread lightly around him, if I were you."

"Agreed," Dakar said. "That is why I have taken every part of myself that asks questions, doubts, and thinks independently and separated it from the rest of my mind. When I return control of my thoughts to the other part that is completely under the god's command, I will be completely unaware of everything we have discussed and completely subservient to him. And I warn you, do not trust me when I am in that state."

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Calexis asked.

"You fear him," Dakar said. "And you do not like fearing things. Also, even though you act as though you do not care, you are worried about your son, Draxis, who I understand was left for dead on the battlefield despite his bravery in attempting to fight the dragon, king Eric. One would think he would deserve some acknowledgement, even a word of favor, but he lost, and that is all that matters, that he was weaker and no longer worthy. Yet, some part of you still wonders what has become of him, and you even think of your daughter, who you treated as worthlessly as Cerric has treated your son. You are not without regret, though you are too prideful and ambitious to let such things deter you from your path.

"That much I gleaned from your mind, Calexis. You are a lustful and prideful woman, and I do not say that as an insult for I am surely guilty of the same in my own quest for power. We are very much alike in that regard, and even Cerric, the man, is little different, though he is petty in his nature, but this god that has taken hold of him is something else entirely. There is nothing within him except emptiness and shadows, and hatred. We are merely his playthings and even when he appears to be pleased by us, when he rewards us for our loyalty and efforts, there is no truth to his words. They are little more than manipulation as we are orchestrated toward some end, one that I believe will be our doom if he is not stopped."

"You take a very great risk, Dakar," Calexis told him, struggling to control the emotions that had risen within her. She did not want to talk of her children or the misgivings she kept buried deep within her thoughts. She had learned long ago, that to waver, to show emotion, was a sign of weakness, and loyalty to others, even family, was a thing too easily exploited by those who would seek to manipulate a person. She was irritated that Dakar had managed to learn such things from her and wondered that his magical ability at seeing might even be greater than Cerric's powers and the power of the god within him. She focused on the mage, wondering what might be the reason for his change of heart and why, of all people, he would confide in her. "To trust me with these thoughts, you must be truly desperate."

"No, Calexis," Dakar said, with a look of what might almost be regret. "I am not desperate, I am simply resigned to the truth of what I have learned. If Cerric and the god within him are not stopped, then nothing changes for me. I am already doomed, bound in subservience through the magic of the book and the god's own power. Since I have already lost, there is nothing for me to lose. I tell you these things for you are not entirely under his power. I do not know how or why, though it may be some aspect of your own power or, perhaps that which you gained from the Darga, but Cerric cannot read you, nor can he control you. The Darga are similar in that they are resistant to many forms of magic, so it is likely their power that has saved you."

"Then I am fortunate," Calexis said with a slight smile, though her concern remained.

"Perhaps, but since you cannot be controlled, you are also a threat. That may be what makes you interesting to him, but when he no longer finds you amusing or if you provoke his ire, then your fate will be short and very likely unpleasant." Dakar turned his head and looked toward the door. "Cerric approaches and I must return to my other self. If you wish to speak to me again, merely ask me for my thoughts and that will bring my inner self forward."